#FeatureFriday: The ZTA Bat Girls

This week's #FeatureFriday goes out to our Delta Kappa sisters on the LSU Bat Girls team! The five lucky diamond dolls are Jillian Carlos, Emily Cooper, Alyssa Holmes, Jana Wayne, and Abby Woltering.  

The entire Bat Girls crew!

To become an LSU Bat Girl, each ZTA filled out an online application. About 100 girls were selected for the second round interview process, where 30 were selected to join this season's squad! This spring the LSU Bat Girls have been busy at the Alex Box! Their responsibilities consist of selling programs before and after games, making sure umpires stay hydrated, retrieving new baseballs, handling foul balls and, of course, picking up the bats and balls for both the home and visiting teams.  Each Delta Kappa Bat Girl holds pride in being part of LSU's Baseball Program, and shared with us their favorite roles on the squad.  

ZTA and Bat Girl Jana Wayne (left) poses with her mother during an LSU football game

ZTA sophomore and second year Bat Girl Jana Wayne shared:

"I like being able to be on the field during the game and have the best seats at The Box.  The opportunity to be a part of such a talented baseball program - the best in the country - is something I will never forget.  The fans are amazing, the stadium is beautiful, and the Tigers are always fun and entertaining to watch!  Being a bat girl is a wonderful honor and I am very grateful!"

ZTA and Bat Girl Abigail (Abby) Woltering (left) poses with Mike the Tiger and another Bat Girl at their banquet

ZTA Senior Abby Woltering stated her passion for baseball and LSU:

"I'd say that it's really hard (even impossible) to choose my favorite thing.  Having a step dad who played professional baseball in the minors, I practically grew up on the diamond. Coming from St. Louis, I am a huge Cardinals fan and baseball has always been a major part of my life. When I came to Louisiana where there is no MLB team, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to watch my beloved Cardinals on local TV or get my baseball fill!  Thankfully, LSU more than makes up for that with their second-to-none baseball program.  I love the incredible fans whose dedication rivals many major league fan bases.  They are knowledgeable, friendly, and passionate.  I am lucky to get to know many of them on a personal level.  They create the most unique college baseball atmosphere in the world, which happens to be in our amazing college stadium. The Alex Box has become my favorite place on campus, and I'd take a Louisiana Saturday night in The Box over Death Valley any day! On game day we are at the stadium for about six hours and I guarantee any bat girl will tell you they wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Also, the chemistry between the women on the squad has always been excellent because we share a love for LSU and baseball.  With the LSU Bat Girls, the fans, atmosphere, some of my ZTA sisters, the entire squad and the amazing baseball created the most incredible experience I've had in college."

Alyssa Holmes (Right) throws the crown with ZTA sisters and fellow Bat Girls, Jillian Carlos and Emily Coopr

Alyssa Holmes' states her pride for LSU baseball:

"My favorite part is definitely being involved in one of the best baseball programs in the nation! I'm a huge baseball fan and having the opportunity to work first hand with the LSU baseball program is amazing to me.  It's also cool to watch the game from a different view for once!"

Emily Cooper (Right) poses with ZTA sisters Jana Wayne, Abby Woltering and Alyssa Holmes at the LSU Bat Girls Banquet

Emily Cooper states:

"I love interacting with fans and giving the foul balls to little kids! It just makes their day!"

ZTA Jillian Carlos (Right) throws the crown with sister Jana Wayne

And lastly but surely not least, Jillian Carlos' favorite role in being a LSU Bat Girl:

"My favorite part of Bat Girls is contributing to an amazing tradition at LSU.  We hold the most people in a collegiate baseball stadium, and average the most fans per game.  People are amazed by our turnout and visitor teams are astounded with everything here!"

Some ZTAs pose with other LSU Bat Girls

We're super proud of y'all, and your dedication to the LSU Baseball Program.  Keep spreading the ZTA love at The Box and experiencing your once-in-a-lifetime chance to contribute to LSU Baseball! Geaux Tigers!

Special thanks to my PR/Historian Assistant Maria Jones!

As Always Zeta Love and Mine,

DK PR and Historian 

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#ThrowtheCrownThursday: Double-Feature of ZTA's at LSU's Senior Stride and Greek Week!

This week we have two #ThrowtheCrownThursdays! #DoubleFeature #ZTAlovesLSU #ZTAsupportsBatonRouge

ZTA Seniors (Left) Virginia Otto-Hayes, Lauren Gear, Mike the Tiger (ZTA's Biggest Fan), Lauren Hulin, Amy Levine and Shannon Cantley celebrated their final year at LSU and supported LSU's Student Government at LSU's Senior Stride 

ZTA's gathered at the work site to throw the crown during their shift for LSU Greek Week, where they worked with Habitat for Humanity to assist in building houses for people in the Baton Rouge Community. 

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Tribute Tuesday: Our Alumnae Featuring Guest Blogger Sophia Holland

This week's Tribute Tuesday by guest blogger and Delta Kappa sophomore Sophia Holland, focuses on our ZTA Alumnae and what we can, as current members, learn from them. 

Guest Blogger Sophia Holland before Big/Lil reveal

"Since joining the Delta Kappa Chapter of ZTA in the Fall of 2012, I discovered an aspect of the sorority that I had completely overlooked coming through recruitment: the history that came with it. As a humanities major, I have always loved learning about history. However, there is certainly something special about sharing a history with someone rather than simply learning about it because it becomes personal.  With my big sister as the rituals chairwoman, I began to focus on our founders who started the rituals. I researched their personal lives to answer my questions about why they focused on certain values to form our legacy. I then began to focus on the more tangible history—those alumnae from several decades before me—that could give me insight into what the chapter was before I joined.

Our alumnae compete in the "Dressed like Themis" competition for ZTA Day

            My sister Megan Barrilleaux, Alumnae Collegiate Chair, recently hosted a Sophomore Pledge Class party with the alumnae. There, I was able to talk to several alumnae who held leadership roles while in their chapters. It was interesting comparing my personal experiences in ZTA to theirs many years before. 

'It seems like I just created a Facebook account yesterday,' Alum Stacey Overtoom said, even though it was actually ten years ago. 

She couldn’t imagine how much easier it would be to communicate with all her sisters if she had Facebook Groups like we do. We talked about the house moms, the chapter sizes, and the Greek community’s relations during her time at ZTA. Many of my high school teachers are Delta Kappa alumnae, and it was very exciting going through recruitment knowing they were secretly rooting for me to join their sisterhood. Alumna Jewell Riecke (active member Miranda Craddock’s aunt) is a close family friend who often shares her time at Delta Kappa with me. She and I continue to discuss our Zeta connection. 

            When I walk through the halls of Delta Kappa, my home, I always look at the composites of the hundreds of women that came before me. Their faces provide me with a security that there is strength in a sisterhood bond like ZTA’s. When I meet our alumnae, I’m proud of what Delta Kappa has become and what it has accomplished in the past. We often get caught up in the exchanges, the paperwork and the chapter meetings, but it’s definitely important to reflect on the past. We must take the time to learn from our wise sisters, whom laid the groundwork for the Zeta Tau Alpha chapter we know and love." 

Sincerely,

Sophia Holland

Thank you Sophia for sharing your thoughts on our Alumnae! As a legacy of ZTA, I grew up respecting the values and morals instilled in my mother and her friends, since they joined the chapter many years ago. It's important to take the time to understand our alumnae, who continue to devote their time and love to our chapter. Ultimately, they always have our best interest at heart and our chapter wouldn't be able to function without their assistance! 

Current member Taylor Wainwright poses with a ZTA alumna at Louisiana ZTA Day 

Thank you to our alumnae for your love and support! Your continued dedication to ZTA doesn't go unnoticed, and we truly appreciate everything y'all do for us!

Zeta Love and Mine,

Delta Kappa PR and Historian

Alumna Beverly Choppin (Center) devotes her time and love to Delta Kappa each year as the Chapter's Main Advisor

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Tribute Tuesday: Guest Blogger Abby Sewell's EMPOWER Experience

For this week's Tribute Tuesday our guest blogger Abby Sewell discusses her experience at EMPOWER, a leadership retreat for members of LSU's Greek Life.

Guest Blogger Abby Sewell

"On the weekend of March 7 through 9, I was blessed with the opportunity to represent my chapter at a Greek wide leadership retreat called EMPOWER. EMPOWER is designed to break down barriers between the sororities and fraternities down the row and to better yourself as a leader. A large part about this past weekend was recognizing that you yourself can be a leader within your chapter even though you may not think you can. Suppose someone in your chapter has come up to you and encouraged you to run for council; that is because they see something in you that is the beginning of a great leader. However, not everyone will be “tapped” by someone else, sometimes they have to “tap” themselves.

Sewell joins the six  ZTA's that attended EMPOWER weekend (Gotangco, Guastella, Hillburn, Wainwright, Henry and Jack) and the two ZTA's that served as EMPOWER facilitators (Al-Juraid and Culotta)

Through this experience I got to meet some amazing people and making lasting friendship throughout the entire Greek community. The facilitators to my small Group 12 (or District 12 as we liked to call it) had never participated in EMPOWER either but we all went through this wonderful program together and came out as stronger leaders. We had a guest speaker, Lori Hart, give an unbelieveable speech about the power of leading through relationships. At one point during the weekend we were told think of an influential leader in our personal lives and I immediately thought of my mom. She has always taken on tasks by first building a relationship with her coworkers and gaining their trust so she was able to lead them in a more effective way. As cheesy as it sounds, the whole reason I even decided to seek out a better leadership experience was because of my mother and I’m so glad that I did.

ZTA's throw the crown at EMPOWER

EMPOWER was such a rewarding experience that I wish wasn't over. I’m currently experiencing EMPOWER withdrawal from my small group and I miss our talks already. Through this incredibly beneficial program put on by Greek Board of Directors (GBOD), I have blossomed as a leader and a person. It showed me how to better myself and my chapter by simply “tapping” myself and taking on everyday issues from a new perspective. Recognizing the leadership skills of others is extremely important when you are trying to organize a large group of  people; like a philanthropy event for example. When everyone’s strengths are utilized the group can accomplish everything that’s thrown at it. I’ll never forget the friendships I’ve made and the skills I’ve learned from this past weekend. I highly recommend EMPOWER to anyone that’s on the fence about getting more involved in their chapter or even if you want to reinforce your skill set."

Sincerely,

Abby Sewell

Thank you Abby for sharing your EMPOWER experience! As a past member of EMPOWER, I can attest to it being one of the best weekends I've had at LSU. It inspired me to pursue leadership opportunities in the LSU community and ultimately lead to running for my current position on ZTA's Executive Council. We look forward to discovering where EMPOWER will lead you and the six other ZTA's that attended!

Zeta Love and Mine,

DK PR & Historian

For more information on EMPOWER click here.

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Vote Today to Support our ZTA's for Student Government Elections

Today's the day to vote for Student Government elections! Be sure to support our ZTA Candidates running for:

UCAC Senator- Taylor Wainwright
UCAC Senator- Helen Frink
Vice President of the College of Science- Katie Henry

Voting ends tonight at midnight, so get your votes in by clicking www.lsu.edu/sgelections

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